Cognitive Dissonance
by Kurin-chan
Summary: A year after this fateful summer, Kurisu decides to visit Japan. Okabe's denying any anticipation while his reality is still haunted by the numerous tragedies of their past, and another female scientist tries to find answers to those inexplicable, painful memories she shares with the mad scientist. How long can he shield the ones he loves from their own past? [SG0 spoilers]
1. Eavesdropping

"As we can see from this scan result, the human brain in its early years is still very good at compensating for the damage it has suffered. In old age, however ... "

"Wow!" Mayuri exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's twice as big. Has Mayushii's brain grown so much, too?" she asked, stroking her hair as if she feared that her head had grown too big for the rest of her body.

"Turn your eyes away, Mayuri, this is not for such a tender soul as yours." When his childhood friend cocked her head questioningly, he sighed as if she forced him to make a reluctant explanation. So he got into position, stuck his index finger in the direction of the scans, and shouted: "There is the shameful act!" He traced down the right side of the toddler's brain, at the same length where the adult's one was divided in the middle. "They show us the abnormal machinations of their reprehensible experiments on living people. Without a doubt, they removed part of this poor creature's brain to see how far they could go. "

"This is called a hemispherectomy and is a medically acclaimed practice," added Daru, while his eyes jumped from Makise's lecture and the Wittypedia article like two table tennis balls. "And anyway, sit down again, that's embarrassing a f."

"It's a good thing Kurisu-chan isn't bothered by anything. She is a really cool scientist."

Okabe took a step back and gripped his shoulder as if he had suffered a severe blow. "Rethink your loyalty priorities, labmem 002! Right before you stands the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma, who, as a luminary, uses his knowledge to outshine everyone else!"

Mayuri just laughed as she let her legs dangle from the chair, which was deliberately too high. "And that's why Okabe-kun is the coolest mad scientist and Kurisu-chan the coolest scientist."

Okabe nodded complacently as a conviction manifested behind his grin. "Well spoken, labmem 002. You have grasped the situation. She is my counterpart, my antagonist, the Cain to my Abel. "

Daru raised an eyebrow. "You are not related, nor does she want to kill you," he murmured, but Okabe was already too far gone.

"She tries unsuccessfully to order my chaos. A foolish endeavor. Doesn't she understand how much intellectual wealth is in my work? Alas, the day of the Last Judgment is not far away when people will recognize what is brewing in secret. I feel it."

If Mayuri were like the anime characters she cosplayed, she would have sparkling stars instead of eyes. She stared in admiration at Okabe, who had put his arms on his hips and raised his chin as if he could look down on the world.

"Yes, yes," said Daru, waving his flat hand up and down. "And now stfu, I can hardly understand Kurisu."

"Daru, you'd better listen to the head of this organization!"

"Don't worry if you miss something. You can ask her when she comes to visit us soon."

A heartbeat later, the screen was just a minor matter and the two young men had turned to Mayuri with curious eyes.

"What do you mean, Mayuri?"

"Well, in a few weeks she'll be coming to Japan to study here for a semester. Have you already forgotten- Oh!" she cried out, putting on her silly grin. "Didn't she tell you yet?"

Daru shrugged. "I'm not surprised about that, we've hardly talked since last summer." There was a meaningful look at the lab-coat-wearer next to him. "But she would've told Okabe for sure."

Okabe was suddenly busy tugging at the collar of his t-shirt. "Celeb-17 seems to be under the impression that she's too special to tell properly."

"We should have expected that you weren't talking to each other. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have had to hack into the university's private livestream until Mayuri asked whether we would be included in the link distribution list. "

"You willingly played our email address into the hands of the enemy? Daru, that's qualified information!"

"What are you raging about? "Chuunibyou4869" will hardly give away our identities - well, perhaps yours, but I wouldn't be surprised if you had acquired questionable fame in the university already. However, we never got anything other than the mass mails from her assistant. The biggest disappointment since EA's loot boxes. "

Mayuri cocked his head, her index finger against her chin. "And she seemed so excited about it." She pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through the Rine log. "Here, look."

_Yay, Kurisu-chan is coming to visit us. _Tuturu_: 3_

_Yeah, it's been too long._  
_Is the lab still intact? ;)_

_Sure. I tell Okabe to finally clean it up. A girl guest deserves better! But where will the poor dust mice live ...?_

Okabe growled and prepared a snarky comment, but Daru just scrolled down a few messages with his thick index finger.

_See you on the 15th =)_

_I can hardly _wait_ *squeal* ^ - ^_

In apprehension, Daru scrolled up a bit and the message's date promptly appeared at the top of the screen.

"5th of June", Okabe read out loud. He turned abruptly and hurried to the calendar on which Mayuri had marked the past few days with her Upa stamp. His jaw dropped when he saw pink on turquoise that his numbered days had almost run out

Thank you for reading my passion project. Since I've discovered Steins;Gate almost two years ago, I fell in love with the characters immediately. Since then, I knew that I wanted to write something about them, but it took a couple of episodes of 0 to know what story I want to tell.

Anyone who spots the references will be rewarded with a cake (may or may not be a lie ;) ).

As this is a translation to english, which is my second language, I'd appreciate it if you'd point out any mistakes I've made. If anyone wants to be my beta reader, I would appreciate it^^

El. Psy. Congroo~


	2. Invitation

Kurisu looked over her monitor as if she could never take the person at the other end of the table serious again. When she realized that she couldn't see her colleague from that angle, she even got up. "What have you done to Amadeus?!"

Maho never pretended not to be a part of the most obvious group of suspects. "I just enhanced her a little. Don't you like it?" she asked with an innocent grin.

Kurisu dropped onto the chair in exasperation, her face hidden behind her hand. "I look like the fantasy of an otaku."

Maho frowned, but there were more important things at hand than clarifying the term. "Didn't you always want to know what you look like in a Japanese school uniform?"

"This is by no means a reason to abuse the AI for this. We have rules, Maho. She's not a toy. "

"Well, she likes it," Maho countered, while Amadeus couldn't stop pulling on the bow in front of her chest out of fascination, and the skirt, which was way too short in an effort to cover at least a reasonable area of her legs.

Kurisu shook her head and scanned the code to find out where Maho had hidden this skin. "Where did you get it from?" she asked absently as her eyes scanned the lines of code.

"I found it on the Internet. Some guy called 'DaSH' has developed something suitable. "

Kurisu's concentration broke immediately when she heard the name, but after a moment's thought, she shook her head. The world was probably bigger than a district. "You can't just pull things off the net like that. What if it was a hidden attack by a hostile country that smuggled us in a free gift to infiltrate our system from the inside? "

Maho patted her mouse with her thin fingers while she waited for her colleague to finish speaking. For inexplicable reasons, despite her all-overshadowing intelligence, she had developed a weakness for pathetic apocalypse scenarios about a year ago, which were sometimes amusing, sometimes completely abstruse. "Can't you just throw the word 'Trojans 'around like any other technology noob? But don't worry, I ran it through all the virus scanners I could think of, including the zero tolerance thing from our university. Then I went through its code in a secure environment. "A quick glance over the edge of the screen let her see how Kurisu's head leaned further and further to the side with a puzzled expression, so Maho quickly shortened her explanation: "And I put all this effort in it even though the Japanese universities have long since abolished their school uniforms - and now you don't even appreciate it!"

Maho watched with relish as Kurisu's expression changed before her eyes. Lack of understanding turned to surprise, disbelief and careful anticipation. "Do you mean exactly what I think?" she asked timidly, as if she couldn't believe her own conclusions.

For a moment, Maho enjoyed this otherwise never occurring phenomenon. "Did you have any doubts? No university with a bit of common sense would deny you a semester abroad. "A mouse click later, Amadeus presented her likeness the letter with a smile as if Kurisu had just won the lottery.

"Oh my god!" Kurisu shouted and jumped up so quickly that the chair fell to the floor behind her. "That's amazing!"

Maho demonstratively put a hand on her strained ear. "I didn't know you were so eager to get out of here."

For Maho, it felt like yesterday that Kurisu had come back from her first trip abroad. For the first two weeks, she had taken a break and visited her mother. After the shocking and confusing news that had spread after the incident in the radio building, Maho could understand that.

When Kurisu had later showed up at the laboratory out of the blue, her little friend's brain had only started to function again when she had held the genius in a tight grip. Maho hadn't thought reunions could be so emotional, but the idea of never seeing Kurisu again had still been fresh in her mind back then.

"That's not it at all," Kurisu defended herself hesitantly.

Maho waved it off. "I already know what the problem is," she said with a sly grin. After all, Kurisu had taken time off again just a few weeks after she had returned to work. Her reason of "showing the country to a few friends" back then made a lot more sense now. "Too bad you didn't introduce your new friends to us. They seem to be some very special people."

Kurisu's gentle smile at the memory was quickly replaced by a professional "I should talk to Professor Leskinen."

"He is in his office. He's probably crying his eyes out that he has to let you go again. Easy come, easy go. "Maho shrugged.

Kurisu sighed. "I will try to be particularly sensitive - and when I get back, you've taken this thing off Amadeus!"

Maho looked at the screen and frowned. "Difficult. I don't know exactly where I put it in… "

"Or I withdraw my consent to work together."

Maho just watched her with a tired smile. With the enthusiasm that Kurisu felt after every little achievement, that would probably only happen in a state of total insanity. And even then her set of memories wasn't the only one in the system.

"Well, Amadeus, you heard her. That was it with your trip into the world of foreign fashion. "

The AI widened her eyes and folded her arms as if it could prevent Maho from tearing her clothes off. "But you went out of your way to do it..." she tried to persuade her in an effort to keep what would objectively be calles 'not suitable for work'.

It was difficult for Maho to hold back the grin. "What Kurisu's eyes don't see ..." She left the sentence in the room like a conspiratorial offer while implementing what she had christened the 'Wardrobe' add-on.

The AI's eyes widened as she searched her new options with the equivalent of thoughts. Less than a minute later, Maho knew what Kurisu looked like in a playful ruffled bikini, as a magical girl, in armor with a braided hairstyle, or as a soldier. Now she deeply regretted that Amadeus noticed when someone took screenshots.

Maho felt a rare kind of relief as she watched Amadeus delightedly looking at herself from all sides. "Good to know that you can be as crazy as the rest of us. Sometimes I forget that."

Amadeus, still fascinated by her new appearance, raised her head in question when she noticed the voice input. She opened her mouth and her expression turned into a frown as the mouse moved to the top right of the program. "See you tomorrow," Maho said like every other day and as usual Kurisu's image raised a hand to wave goodbye before the screen went black.

Experience had shown that the termination should not take too long because Amadeus negotiated better than a child who did not want to go to bed yet. Sometimes Maho felt as if she had to program the conviction that it would only be a few hours before the program would be activated again. Whether because of work or her fascination with her creation, Maho couldn't remember not having started the program for more than a day.

Once, on a rainy Sunday, she'd opened it on the couch while waring holey sweatpants and having a greasy hairline just to get advice on what to do on that boring day. When instead of an answer, there was a roar of laughter from the loudspeaker, the program had booted longer than it had been running.

She heard the familiar ventilation of the PC die and looked at her reflection in the blackness of the monitor for a moment. "Fool. It's not a goodbye forever," she murmured to herself, grabbed her bag and stood up. She glanced at the professor's office, through whose door Kurisu had previously disappeared. Their conversation was audible through the door, but too muffled for Maho to understand more than a few words. She pushed the thought of disturbing her aside before it had manifested properly. It was so wrong for her to just say "See you tomorrow" as usual when preparations were being made in there that would soon change that. So she just grabbed her bag, flipped the light switch, and disappeared from the building.


	3. Protection

Okabe was sitting on the sofa, his body leaning forward, staring at the table as if his gaze would burn a hole into it. Daru had rarely seen him so focused. He usually ran around the room like a startled chicken and dubbed it brainstorming (he said it would help him think, but Daru was convinced that his best friend appreciated any distraction that could cover up the fact that he did not make any progress with his scientific experiments). The scene before him was therefore way more frightening. Okabe looked like he was actually on the way to a scientific breakthrough - or at least af as if he was working on it with all his might.

"Can someone help you?" Daru asked - not that he intended to. It just seemed like the best way to get information out of him, though he did not really have to worry about that. While Okabe acted like he was on his way to subjugate the world with his crazy experiments, he was amazingly liberal about sharing his information concerning ongoing projects. However, as Okabe only slowly awoke from his rigidity and looked up in a trance, Daru was about to call the police or an ambulance because he suspected a serious problem. Though, considering how government authorities reacted when they met him, it was probably not a good idea. After that, they could only visit him at fixed times between his therapy sessions.

So Daru searched his address book, prepared to dial the number of Okabe's mother when the young man with the lab coat spoke in an ominous voice: "Daru, prepare yourself that the world as we know it will be shaken to its foundations."

In itself, this promise was nothing new as he said it at least once a week, but it was usually followed by a mad scientist's laugh and not a sad scientist's sigh. Was ist actually something serious this time? Daru swallowed. If so, it was a size too big for him. And when it came to the end of the world, there was only one person who could take on Okabe at this level of craziness. "Does that mean I can call Faris and tell her that it is an emergency and she has to come here immediately because ... oh, that's irrelevant." With a broad grin, he pressed the speed dial of the maid, but Okabe shook his head.

"I'm afraid she's part of the problem. The honorable descendent of Anubis was corrupted by the dark side and conspires with our adversaries. "

"Hm, if darkness is our opponent ... maybe Magical Girl Mayuri-"

"No, Lab 002 is seriously delusional and has been manipulated by the Mistress of Darkness to help her come to our country and gain access to our research methods in order to subjugate all of us."

Daru rolled his eyes. It slowly dawned on him what kind of impending calamity had brought Okabe into this state, and it suddenly embarrassed him that he had taken it seriously for even a second. "Don't make such a fuss just because will have a visitor. Kurisu is really nice and you got on really well last summer - which was really strange because she has been the only female in a long time who doesn't run away screaming when she talks to you. "

"I have many 'female beings' as my entourage, Daru."

"Well, technically, yes, but that's not something to be proud of. You had to take one of them hostage, another probably only sees you as her cat toy, the other could send you flying with nothing more than a glance and another is probably more of a stalker that you will never get rid of," Daru paused and sent a prayer to the anime pope, praying that she wasn't a yandere, "and the last one is a trap. Okay, a damn hot trap, but that doesn't count. And don't tell Ruka I said that - unless I get to see him blush because of the compliment. After all, it's not gay if you say 'no homo'."

"Daru, the problem is not with my followers here-"

"You mean your harem," Daru corrected, crossing his arms. What drove everyone crazy about a gaunty wannabe scientist if they could have a man who was trained in the art of giving each type of woman the feeling of appreciation that overwhelmed her so much that sooner or later it would lead to physical activity regarding every conceivable point of the spectrum? On the other hand it was plain as day that 3D girls easily became jealous of their 2D-competition and did not grant them the much-needed attention. And since Daru knew how much his waifus needed the attention every one of them deserved, he had to accept reluctantly that satisfaction in the RL was really just a myth, no matter how many Isekais he would visit.

"I only have two days left to come up with the best possible strategy for how I can master the situation. If the enemy comes into my territory and I have nothing to oppose her, I will be overwhelmed by her. Apparently she already has laboratory members 002, 006 and 007 on her side. "

It took a moment to decipher the code, and after a moment of shock, Daru breathed: "No, anyone but my Neko goddess!" Then he remembered who he had just sacrificed and added: "And our Genki Girl and the Trap, I guess."

"Yes, my loyal friend. I tell you, these are truly difficult times ahead. Perhaps we can still save our friends, but we don't have much time left. Once they are completely taken in by the charisma, we have little chance of getting through to them. Then we have no choice but to banish them from this refuge forever in order to save ourselves. "

Daru swallowed. "We cannot allow anything like that to happen!"

"You got it. That's why I suggest we design a battle plan together. Any ideas?"

Daru frowned. "Why me?"

Okabe blinked and his burning spirit had suddenly turned to smoke. "Well ... you know the opposite sex! So use your infinite senseless knowledge acquired by those wasted hours staring at these screens to protect our laboratory! "

Daru crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean now? I have zero experience in a scenario where they threaten to kill me - if anything, they would rather kill everyone but me. "

Okabe closed her eyes. "Let's hope that murder only has to be a mean to an end in an emergency."

The two were silent for a moment, startled by the graveness of these words. Then Daru asked slowly: "Okay, let's get back to the beginning. What exactly do we fear will happen?"

Okabe's eyes grew dark. "That Kurisu Makise will overthrow me, the rightful ruler of our laboratory."

Daru's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say that right away? When will that happen?"

"Tomorrow evening she will arrive at the airport and will be greeted by her personal escort."

Daru stretched her arms towards the sky. "Hentai genius boss ftw," he called. "Do you think she will stay forever if she gets her own laboratory?"

Okabe buried his head in his hands. Then he lowered one, got out his cell phone and held it to his ear. "It's me. Apparently my closest ally is now in the hands of our the enemy ... No, I can't give up now. I have to face this infection that 'The Zombie' has brought upon us. A truly gruesome fate to become one of her will-less puppets that help her satisfy her crave for human brains ... Yes, the fate of the world is now in my hands. It's time for Hououin Kyouma to rise again from the ashes and save the world from its demise. El. Psy. Kongroo."

* * *

I apologize once again for the mistakes since I'm still not as proficient in this language as I'd like to be. That being said, if anyone has some spare time and could help me out with some proofreading, I'd gladly appreciate it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	4. Celebration

Maho had always known it was worth following her instinct, and that evening was just another confirmation. After all, she had known exactly how it was going to work in advance, and that gut feeling had now come true. She was standing with her back to the wall, but instead of giving her security because nobody could sneak up from behind, it only made her more agitated. The glass in her hand didn't help. She had already done so much alibi sipping as to not just stand there stupidly that there was only a little sip left.

In the meantime, she had joined a few other scientists and tried to join their conversations, but they either had completely different subjects so that Maho did not have anything to say, or topics that she did not want to have say something about. Somehow, it was hard to find the grotesque behaviors of toddlers funny when they threw food around or scribbled on walls. Another confirmation that she wanted to delay this topic at least for another decade.

She looked longingly at the clock. It was half past seven; the party had started less than two hours ago. They were already done with the meal, and apart from the guests there was no reason to stay - in her case, she even wanted to go home as soon as possible. She had a bed whose call was growing stronger by the second and at least three electrical devices that would keep her better entertained than the 'intellectuals' here.

Maho shrugged, emptied her glass in one go and placed it on a waiter's tray after he had passed her for the third time without taking any notice. With her hands in her pockets, she walked across the room, past some more people who didn't really notice her. She recognized a few from her department, but neither party felt inclined to more than a nod. She looked around the room and made a detour so that it didn't look like she was heading for the door the quickest way.

Out of curiosity, she searched the crowd for a familiar face when she bumped into someone. Mentally she was already preparing for an annoyed remark, but when she heard the laugh she would have loved to trade it for it. "Well, why are you looking so lost in thought?" asked Professor Reyes. As always when she spoke to Maho, she bowed to the ground a little, which earned her an annoyed look. Her attempt to compensate the size difference only made it more obvious to Maho.

"I didn't. I just wanted to talk to Kurisu. " It didn't seem appropriate to not say goodbye to the person in whose honor this party was being held. However, there were so many people here that another goodbye would surely be glossed over. In fact, they had talked about the themattr so often during the last few days that a 'proper' goodbye would only be a matter of form.

Reyes nodded, but the smile didn't disappear from her face. "I would look near Professor Leskinen."

Maho rolled her eyes. Of course he would be close to her. It was typical to see him alongside the promising women in his department (Maho suspected that he even had a distinct ranking in his head). "Thank you. Have a nice evening." And before Reyes could add anything, Maho walked purposefully across the room.

It was easy to make out his voice among those present. She was used to hearing him every day, but even so he dominated most of the conversations around him. Maho didn't bother to join the conversation and just tapped Kurisu on the elbow. Judging by her polite expression, her thoughts were somewhere else than the topic of Leskinen's last hike through the mountains (presumably because he had already told them about it in great detail - although Maho remembered many more inns on his way).

"I'm about to go home."

To Maho's astonishment, it wasn't Kurisu who replied, but the professor: "What, you want to leave us already, Maho?" he asked, honestly confused.

Maho made a face. Couldn't he have said it louder? Then she would have had not only the attention of the people around her, but also of the whole room. This evening was still getting worse. One more reason to flee this party.

Kurisu didn't seem bothered by all the attention. "It's really still early," she said, looking at the clock. "Are you not well?"

"If you only knew," Maho wanted to say, but she skipped the cryptic allusion. Her personal problems were more than out of place at the moment. However, she had no excuse for what to say instead. "I ... um ... have other plans."

Kurisu turned her head and looked at her impishly. "Oh yes? Anything more important than my farewell party?"

"I didn't say that," Maho replied, burying her hands deeper in her pockets.

Kurisu giggled. "That's not a problem. Come on, I'll see you out. Please excuse me. "

Leskinen seemed to regret that he now had one less listener and complained accordingly, but the other people were so polite to put their needs aside. Nevertheless, it was clear to see that they definitely wanted to exchange a few more words with the youngest scientist at their university.

With Kurisu in tow, Maho went to get her jacket and was surprised when her colleague reached for her jacket. She frowned. "What are you up to?"

Kurisu smiled boldly. "Just taking a little break. They'll be fine without me for a while. " She slipped on the jacket like a lab coat. "Are you coming now?"

"Sure," Maho said quickly, still confused about the change of pace. She dressed as she walked, which wasn't easy because she missed the sleeve three times. Fortunately, Kurisu had her eyes turned forward and had no idea what her Senpai was struggling with. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Don't panic, I'm not going to run away from my own party." Kurisu looked over her shoulder, but the look in Maho's direction wasn't one of accusation.

Maho followed her through the university corridors, out of the wing that none of them used. Most of the days they only went to the laboratory, the library and, if necessary, to the cafeteria if their bodies reminded them that they should eat something once in a while.

They stepped through one of the large entrance doors to the university and Maho immediately felt the cold night air on her skin. It was summer, but once the sun was gone, it got too cold for just a dress. She felt the cold creep up her legs. Why couldn't one come in normal clothes to parties?

They walked down the steps in front of the building in silence and passed the lush green areas. Maho had never really looked at them. Most of the time, she was busy rushing to the laboratory in time, or going home quickly, fixed on all the things she was free to do. This time it was particularly pleasant because asr the lectures were over, the campus was almost completely deserted. Although the semester had recently started, only a few students roamed around in individual groups. Maho didn't blame them. Had it not been for the party, she would also no longer be found here.

"Maho?" She heard Kurisu ask and was surprised to see her Kohai sitting on the border wall.

It was just as high as Maho's chest, which was ridiculously low for a wall, but she still eyed her skeptically. Kurisu's sight made her smile. She lowered her voice an octave and mimed one of the the janitor's southern accent: "Young lady, do you know that this is university property?"

Kurisu put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, but she couldn't help but giggle. "What was I thinking? Destroying the inventory on my last day here that had served as a seat for students for decades even before I was born - and now don't be coward and come up here, Maho. "

After this request, the wall seemed to have grown quite a bit, and Maho took a moment to think about the best possible strategy. Then she noticed that climbing was something she'd done the last time in elementary school and that it could end up being particularly embarrassing in her current outfit. However, no one was here to watch her.

Maho brushed aside the thought of strategy. She put her arms on the stone warmed by the sun and tried to pull herself up high enough to get her knee on it.

She didn't need to hear Kurisu laugh to know she was failing miserably.

Maho gave up on her project and glared at Kurisu. "At least I tried, so appreciate that," she said, arms crossed.

"I can't help it, it just looked too funny." She slid elegantly off the wall and landed next to Maho. "Come on, let me help you." She clasped her hands together like a step of a makeshift ladder and looked at her senpai.

"I'm not sure if that will help in any way," she said, eyeing Kurisu's hands suspiciously. She didn't weigh much, but she could hear Kurisu's fingers break even before she set foot on them.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Kurisu said, one step away from a pout, which was usually followed by puppy eyes as a last resort. Since Maho had not yet found a way to deal with this so that her surrender would be inevitable, she decided to give in.

Maho sighed. "Very well, just one more try." She did her best to ignore the smug grin on Kurisu's face when she put her foot on her hands. She shifted her weight with a swing, and when the shaky ground of Kurisu's hands gave way under her, she saw herself lying on the floor. Instinctively she grabbed Kurisu's shoulder, but a moment later she was hoisted up. She felt as clumsy as a toddler clinging to her kohai, but she quickly forgot that when she finally sat.

"See, it's not that difficult," said Kurisu and sat down next to her with a content expression.

Maho decided not to reply to that. She was too busy looking straight ahead anyway. "Apparently I decided to leave at the right time," she quipped, pointing her head forward.

Kurisu also looked around and was similarly satisfied with the view that was offered to her. "Right, the sunset is really beautiful."

Maho laughed. "You and your geocentric world view."

Kurisu nudged her with her elbow. "In the absence of a better word, yes. Or do you have a more appropriate name for it?"

"No, but I don't think it would prevail anyway." Maho shrugged. "Most people are too lazy to use a new term. They probably don't even know what 'geocentric' actually means."

Kurisu shook her head and placed a hand on her neckline. "What a misunderstood world we live in." A moment later, a knowing smile appeared on her face. "But I guess that's not the only thing that is not yet known to the general public."

Maho didn't know whether to be exhilarated or upset and decided that it would depend on Kurisu's answer to her question. "Oh yes? Is that so? Then explain to me what that's all about. "

"I'm sorry, it's a secret," Kurisu replied in a tone that Maho knew immediately that the first part was a lie and the second was set in stone.

"And still bring it up just to tease me," she complained, putting on the pout she'd previously expected from Kurisu.

Unfortunately, she had no such superpower. Maybe begging would have worked at some point, but Maho had too much self-respect for that. Besides, she didn't want to bring up the fact that Kurisu often wondered who the Senpai was. Especially not on their last evening here.

"Who knows, maybe you will find out at some point," Kurisu mused to herself.

"As if," Maho replied. It was clear to her that Kurisu only wanted to play with her. But maybe there was a clue ... All right, she would go with it, for better or worse. Except for a little pride, she had nothing to lose. "Is that why you want to go to Japan?"

Kurisu's grin was enough of an answer.

Maho tilted her head. "What's so interesting that you don't have here?"

The grin widened and her gaze became more unfocused, as if she remembered all the reasons she had done everything in the past year to get back. "Oh, there are quite a few things."

Maho rolled his eyes. "If you're about to tell me that it's just a guy, I'll throw you off the wall!"

"He's not just a guy!" Kurisu replied and when she felt Maho's hand on her back, she added: "And he is not the reason why I go there. It is actually the smallest reason - and only because it is inevitable that it will have something to do with it. Believe me, if it were up to me, I would prefer not to meet him at all. "

"Alright," said Maho, feeling like the conversation was losing its appeal with every word. Either Kurisu was a terrible liar and therefore made so many suggestions about this unimportant guy, or she told the truth, which still made her make too many unnecessary suggestions about an unimportant guy. Either way, it was one topic Maho didn't want to discuss. "So if he's not the reason ..."

Kurisu shook her head. "It's better if you don't know more about it."

Maho snorted. "Oh please, what's going to happen? It's not like you're working on a weapon of mass destruction. "

"No, it really isn't." She frowned. "Well, maybe in a very, very unfortunate case, but as long as we explicitly limit ourselves to the theoretical level, that shouldn't happen."

Maho dropped his jaw. "Kurisu!" She cried so loudly that people across the street turned around, "tell me right now that they didn't hire you to work on an anti-matter bomb or something. "

Kurisu had never raised her hands so quickly - not even when it was about eating the last piece of cake. "I promise you sacredly that this is not the case. You know ... it's complicated. He knows what damage this device can do, so I had to promise him that I would never pass the information on. "

Maho rolled his eyes. "And again it's about this guy."

Kurisu was about to deny it with a slight blush when Maho added: "But you will still work with us on Amadeus, won't you?"

Kurisu tilted her head and gave Maho a conciliatory glance. "Of course. After all, I'm personally involved. Not that Amadeus ends up as a dress-up doll."

Maho grinned. "Oh, I actually thought she looked cute with it. There's a lot more where that comes from. I could have given her a maid costume, just so you know."

Kurisu shivered at the thought of being seen in it. "Damn those perverts. Besides, that didn't suit me at all!"

Maho raised his eyebrows. "I want pictures! Immediately!"

"There are no pictures!" Kurisu called out with a vehemence that revealed to Maho that she had taken care of that herself. In such a case, the threat of violence was probably not just an option for her, but courteous. At the thought of dozens of men running away from her, Maho almost fell off the wall laughing.

Kurisu looked back on the campus. There was a look of sadness in her eyes that made Maho wonder whether she was expected to see this place for the last time. "This is where we met."

Maho nodded, trying not to let the lump in her throat grow too big. "It wasn't even that long ago." She considered for a moment. "It's barely been more than a year, hasn't it? There was still snow around here."

Kurisu nodded. "Yes, I remember. You had some on your head when you came in. "

Maho grumbled something incomprehensible, which made Kurisu reminis even more. "Then he melted and I slipped on it."

"And you pulled me down with you. I would say that was poetic justice."

"Right." Then Kurisu grinned because of a joke only she knew.

Maho could already imagine what it was about. So she was quite annoyed when she had to ask: "Okay, what's so funny?"

"Because I can vividly imagine someone telling a joke like 'Maho laid Kurisu'- and before you ask: yes, I am still debating whether I would prefer to erase that person from my memory."

Maho made a slightly disgusted face. "I hope we let that part out of Amadeus."

"Don't panic, her mind is pure and innocent."

"Mhm," was all Maho said, which Kurisu decided to ignore.

"However, it is interesting that we talk about work here on my last day for the time being."

Maho shrugged helplessly. "Well, that's just natural. After all, we wouldn't have met otherwise. We didn't spend much time together apart from here, after all. "

"Right," Kurisu admitted slowly, "but somehow that's a shame, don't you think? I have the feeling that we hardly know each other. "

Maho made a face. Why did people always come with this sentimental stuff when it was too late to change anything about it? Perhaps she would not have felt that pull in her chest until she had been back home where she would come to understand what it would mean to stop seeing Kurisu in the lab every morning as usual. Maho could barely remember those moments when their attention had not been on their common project. And the way Kurisu spoke of her time abroad, it sounded like she would not mind to stay longer than just one semester

"Oh please, you make it sound like we'll never see each other again," Maho said, hoping that Kurisu wouldn't say that this could exactly be the case.

Kurisu ran a hand through her long red hair and put on an apologetic smile. "You're probably right. I'm sorry I got so terribly sentimental. "

Maho waved it off. "Already forgotten. I think you should go back in, otherwise they really think you already wanted to leave them. "

Kurisu giggled. "You could be right. Have a safe trip home, Maho." With that, she slid off the wall.

Maho landed next to her. "Have a nice flight. Text me when you land"

"I will."

For a moment they stood there in uncomfortable silence. Maho could literally watch how

Kurisu debated a thought, but she couldn't figure out which one it was - after all, Maho was lost in her own thoughts.

Before Maho knew it, Kurisu put her arms around her. Her senpai just stood there for a long moment, surprised and confused by the sudden gesture. Reluctantly, she did the same and ran her hands over Kurisu's back until they met in the middle. Then she returned the pleasant pressure.

She heard Kurisus giggle close to her ear. "You're not used to being hugged, are you?"

When she let go of Maho and took a step back, Maho looked at her sourly. She had crossed her arms and shrugged as if she could shake off the embarrassing feeling. "I can't help it. We don't do that in Japan."

Kurisu was still smiling when she replied, "What a shame. Well, there is always a next time. "

"But don't you dare to scare me like that again. You can travel back from Japan without being in the news nationwide, you know?" Maho was glad that a whole year had passed since then. Back then, the mere thought of the event would have felt like a punch to the stomach.

Kurisu laughed. "Don't worry, something like that will never happen a second time. My 15 minutes of fame were enough for me. "

Maho snorted at the understatement when Kurisu waved her goodbye.

For several days, various media had written about the incident, yet still no one had really figured out what had happened overseas. Still Maho would never forget the first time she had heard the news.

She had walked past the break room during work, just as usual. She had ignored the background noise of the television as suddenly someone had called: "Hey, isn't that the young scientist from here?" Her heart had pounded so rapidly that she felt in in her chest when she had seen the picture of Kurisu motionless in the pool of blood. Maho had felt the coffee cup slip out of her hands, but had been unable to prevent it. Her legs gave way and the shards cut into her hands as she fell to the ground

It wasn't until she had patched herself up a first-aid kit and a chemistry student's iodine solution in the ladies' room that she was able to think clearly again. "She's alive," she kept saying as the water ran over her fingers and hoped that her sobs could not be heard. It certainly didn't help much that her thoughts were still dominated by the image that would haunt her in her sleep ever since.

Half an hour later, her hands were covered with plasters, under which the disinfected areas still burned and throbbed slightly. She drummed on the keyboard while she waited, but when the pain flicked through her hand, she let go of it. It had been difficult enough to start the program. Not to mention taking off her lab coat smelling of coffee. It was the third missed call by now, but she tried to be rational. God knew she wouldn't be the only one calling up Kurisu in this situation. There could be a thousand reasons why she didn't pick up the phone.

"Hey, Amadeus," she said. Voice activation had cost her her last nerve when all of her colleagues had fun yelling various commands from across the room. By now she had reprogrammed the system so that they could scream all they wanted as long as she didn't press the Ctrl key.

The reply came a moment later. "What's up, Senpai?"

"Any news?"

Amadeus shook her head. "I'll let you know when I find something. Seems like they don't know what happened over there, either."

Maho had never been so happy that Amadeus's bilingualism enabled her to understand the levels of a text that was otherwise lost in translation. The scientist leaned back in her chair and leaned her head against the headrest.

"Done for today?" Amadeus asked, giggling, even though Maho could hear her nervousness. No wonder the AI sensed that its programmers' nerves were even more unstable than its code.

"You have no idea. You don't know anything of exhaustion." Something else she had in common with her alter ego. Maho was able to survive the night with coffee, but Kurisu even managed to greet her with a smile the next morning, whereas Maho greedily picked up the drug because she was no use before her first three cups.

"I don't think so."

Maho crossed her arms. "Don't talk about things you don't understand."

Amadeus snorted. "Open your eyes," she said, slightly annoyed.

As a test, Maho opened the right one before snapping forward and stopped herself with her hands at the table to avoid banging against the screen. The burning of her hands was just a side note. She didn't know whether she could attribute it to pain, but she had never been so happy to see double.

Just to be sure, she asked, "You're not a sleep-induced hallucination, are you?"

Kurisu cocked her head as if she was seriously considering it. "Well, I don't know what you see there, and you have dark circles under your eyes like a panda, so to deny it entirely -"

"All right, all right," Maho said, rubbing her eyes as if she could wipe the dark spots away. It also had the nice side effect of catching any tears of relief before Kurisu could see them despite the poor connection. "Actually I thought I was slowly getting over the nickname. " However, she had also expected her colleagues to be smart enough to know that Japan was not the country "where the pandas come from".

Amadeus put a finger to her chin and Maho had to force herself to remember that it was the digital copy of Kurisus' former self when she said: "I have this information, too. That is not enough for a clear identification. "

"It's okay. No chance that I could dream you so true to character. "

This time it was the real Kurisu who giggled and teased: "Don't tell me we haunt you in your dreams."

It didn't really matter to Maho whether all of this was really just a dream, as long as she didn't wake up in the near future. Better to exchange reality with a good dream than to live in this version of it. Better than to live in a world where Kurisu didn't exist anymore

"You can see for yourself in three weeks."

Maho frowned. "Three weeks?"

"That's when I'll come back, or have you already forgotten? It's good to see how much you look forward to it. "

Maho decided not to answer the trick question. "So you really want to stay as long as was originally planned?" asked her senpai incredulously.

Kurisu shrugged. "I don't see any problem. Or should I let Amadeus calculate the likelihood that something this crazy will happen to me a second time? "

Amadeus opened her mouth as if she already knew which variables to consult, but Maho silenced her creation with one raised hand. "What exactly did happen? Even the news seem to have no idea. "

Kurisu grimaced. "I can't remember anything except that I woke up in a pool of blood."

Maho opened her eyes, but Kurisu shouted: "Not mine. I was completely unharmed, but how it came about ... even after being questioned by the police for three hours, we're all as smart as we were before. "

"And they really let you go so easily?"

"Well, a short investigation showed that it was the blood of a male person, and when I convinced five different officers and a shrink that I couldn't even begin to explain what happened there, they let me go."

Maho leaned back in her desk chair and looked at her colleague. Now that she knew she was safe and sound, Maho could think clearly enough to act on her instinct. "Did you find out what the investigation brought up?"

Kurisu's face twisted slightly. "A young man was found on the same day with a stab wound in the stomach area, not far from the crime scene. They think he had something to do with it, but the way he behaved, they don't want to rule out the possibility that drugs were involved. "

Maho shook his head. "How can you stay so calm there? Who knows what he was up to with you? For my part, I would get the hell out of there. "

Kurisu raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes? Do you feel safer in New York, Miss 'Don't let me go home alone in the dark'?"

Maho slammed her hands on the table. "This is something completely different! Walking alone through the city at night is like begging to be mugged. "

"It was a five minutes walk," Kurisu reminded her, grinning.

"And to make matters worse, you talked me into a horror film beforehand. After that, how could you expect me not to suspect an ax murderer around every corner? "

"I see. That's why you looked like you were about to cry while we left the university building."

Maho's hair stood out as tangled as the fur of a hissing cat. "I didn't beg and I didn't cry at all!"

Kurisu grinned. "I said 'about to''."

"To hell with the damn semantics!" said Maho, dropped back into the groaning chair and crossed her arms. The only good thing was that she was now certain that Kurisu was real. In her dreams, she never said mean things.

"Victory," Kurisu chuckled.

'Nothing new', Maho thought.

"Oh come on, don't pout now."

Maho, who had unconsciously pushed her chin further forward, corrected herself immediately. "I didn't. Must be because of the poor video transmission."

"Anyway, you'd better make a list of what I should get you. I still have enough space in my suitcase for a few souvenirs. "

Maho's features were soft when she laughed. "I will remind you of the sentence again when you google the cost of overweight luggage. But I don't really need anything specific. "

Kurisu grinned mischievously and lifted a taiyaki up into the camera. "It's still warm."

"I bet you're only here because you were too evil for hell," said Maho, who could feel her stomach telling her how much she wanted this pastry.

Kurisu could barely stay on her chair while laughing. "Perfect. If I have any space problems, I can just eat it up. "

Maho sighed. "You shouldn't have told me anything. What good is it if you offer it and then I am disappointed because there are only crumbs in your suitcase? "

"I stand by my word, you'll see." Kurisu abruptly looked around and when she turned back to the camera, Maho noticed the haste in her eyes as if she had a deadline to meet. "Well then, I have to go. We'll talk again later. "

Maho snorted. "Easier said than done with the time difference. I know that too well from my parents." At some point, Maho had gotten up an hour before work because her parents had complained that they rarely saw their daughter.

"Oh, we're two scientists, we'll get that sorted out."

There had only been a few instances when Maho had known better than Kurisu, and it was even rarer that she would have preferred not to. Despite their agreement that day , the two had only seen each other again at the airport when Maho had stood next to Kurisu's mother and tried to kill time with strenuous small talk. She had expected something to change as a result of the terrible event and the following weeks, but shortly afterwards things had gone back to the way they had always been.

Maho had the uneasy feeling that it wouldn't be the case this time.


End file.
